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Artist
Rembrandt Peale, 22 Feb 1778 - 3 Oct 1860
Lithographer
Pendleton Lithography Company, active c. 1825 - 1836
Sitter
George Washington, 22 Feb 1732 - 14 Dec 1799
Date
c. 1827
Type
Print
Medium
Lithograph on paper
Dimensions
Sheet: 63 × 48.1 cm (24 13/16 × 18 15/16")
Mat: 71.1 × 55.9 cm (28 × 22")
Topic
Nature & Environment\Clouds
Home Furnishings\Drape
Architecture\Window
Artwork\Sculpture
Nature & Environment\Plant\Wreath
George Washington: Male
George Washington: Military and Intelligence\Army\Officer\Revolutionary War
George Washington: Politics and Government\Statesman\Colonial statesman
George Washington: Natural Resource Occupations\Agriculturist\Farmer
George Washington: Military and Intelligence\Army\Officer\General
George Washington: Politics and Government\President of US
George Washington: Science and Technology\Surveyor
George Washington: Congressional Gold Medal
Portrait
Credit Line
National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution; gift of Stuart P. Feld
Restrictions & Rights
CC0
Object number
NPG.70.56
Exhibition Label
This important early American lithograph reproduces Rembrandt Peale’s famous “porthole” portrait of George Washington, titled Patriæ Pater (“Father of the country”). The artist envisioned this dramatic, idealized image as the authoritative portrait of the first president. For three months, Peale worked obsessively on the original painting in his Philadelphia studio, combining his likeness of Washington, made from life in 1795, with the best features of works by other artists. He then copied the “ideal” painting multiple times.
The lithographs were a vital part of Peale’s campaign to publicize the image and profit from its fame. Peale, one of the first American fine artists to become interested in lithography, meticulously redrew his composition on stone to make the lithograph that was printed by Pendleton’s Lithography in Boston. At the time, many critics considered this to be the finest print produced by the newly established U.S. lithographic industry.
Esta importante y antigua litografía reproduce el famoso retrato de George Washington, el Patriæ Pater, pintado por Rembrandt Peale en formato de “ojo de buey”. El artista visualizó esta imagen idealizada y dramática como el retrato definitivo del padre de la patria en ocasión del 50 aniversario de la nación. Peal trabajó tres meses obsesivamente en su estudio de Filadelfia, combinando el retrato que le había hecho a Washington del natural en 1795 con los mejores rasgos de obras de otros artistas. Luego produjo múltiples copias de la efigie “ideal”.
Esta estampa fue crucial en la campaña de Peale por promover la idea del Patriæ Pater y sacar provecho de su fama. Peale, uno de los primeros artistas estadounidenses interesados en la litografía, recreó meticulosamente su composición en piedra para ser impresa por Pendleton’s Lithography en Boston. Según muchos críticos de entonces, esta era la mejor impresión que había producido la naciente industria litográfica del país.
